The High Court has ordered mobile phone operator Robi to settle Tk 1.38 billion of the telecom regulator's audit claim.
On Sunday (Jan 5), the bench of Justice Mamnoon Rahman and Justice Khizir Hayat ordered the telco to settle the amount claimed by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in five installments.
On Jul 31, BTRC issued a letter to Robi demanding payment of Tk 8.67 billion.
On Aug 25 the same year, Robi filed a case against the payment demand with a lower court and sought temporary injunction on the BTRC’s letter which was turned down.
Robi then filed an appeal with the High Court on Oct 22 seeking temporary injunction on the BTRC’s letter seeking payment.
According to the telecoms regulator, Robi owes over Tk 8.67 billion to the government, including more than Tk 1.97 billion to the National Board of Revenue.
On Sept 5, the telecom regulator issued show-causes notices to Robi and Grameenphone, seeking explanation as to why their 2G and 3G licences should not be revoked for failure to pay dues within 30 days.

Robi Axiata, the second largest telecom operator in Bangladesh, was formed after the merger of Robi and Airtel in 2016.